Bay tree

Bay tree, any of several small trees with aromatic leaves, especially the sweet bay, or bay laurel (Laurus nobilis), source of the bay leaf used in cooking. The California laurel (Umbellularia californica) is an ornamental tree also called the bay tree. The bay rum tree, or simply bay (Pimenta racemosa), has leaves and twigs that, when distilled, yieldoil of bay, which is used in perfumery and in the preparation of bay rum.

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leaf of the sweet bay tree, Laurus nobilis, an evergreen of the family Lauraceae, indigenous to countries bordering the Mediterranean. A popular spice used in pickling and marinating and to flavour stews, stuffings, and fish, bay leaves are delicately fragrant but have a bitter taste. They contain...

aromatic evergreen tree of the laurel family (Lauraceae). It occurs on the Pacific coast of North America from Oregon to California and grows about 15 to 25 metres (50 to 80 feet) tall. A handsome tree, it is often grown in gardens and along avenues. The alternate, short-stalked, smooth-edged...

...is the most unusual member of the family; the genus contains 15–20 species native to the Old World. Laurus (laurel) consists of two species, one of which is L. nobilis (sweet bay tree, or bay laurel), a native of the Mediterranean. The leaves of the bay laurel were once formed into laurel crowns by the ancient Greeks. Sassafras, one of the few economically...